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King Henry V [60-Minute Abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 26. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A 60-minute abridgement of the Shakespeare history. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but, because all the words are Shakespeare's and therefore out of copyright, performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | King Henry is intent on reclaiming his entitlement to France. He invades Harfleur and then, with his troops exhausted and ill, wants to take his army to the English-ruled Calais - but the French bar his way and engage him in battle. On the fields of Agincourt, Henry achieves a surprising victory. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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King Richard the Second [60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 26. No chorus. All the doubled roles are male (so the numbers without doubling are 22M, 4F), but of course you can cast whoever you like. There are options to increase the cast size with non-speaking court retinue. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A 60-minute abridgement of the Shakespeare history. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but, because all the words are Shakespeare's and therefore out of copyright, performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | King Richard II, badly advised, banishes Henry Bolingbroke. When Richard seizes the property of John of Gaunt, Henry's father, Henry returns to get restitution. He builds a strong following against the unpopular Richard, who surrenders the crown, is imprisoned, and murdered. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Last Duchess by Iris Winston Won first prize in the Ottawa Little Theatre National Playwriting Competition. |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 4. Minimum total without doubling = 5. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 15 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A short stage adaptation of Robert Browning's poem, My Last Duchess. |
Synopsis | The spirit of a murdered wife steps from her portrait to try and warn the next fiancée of the fate that awaits her. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Macbeth [a 60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare abridged by Dwayne Lawler |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 10. Minimum total without doubling = 15. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Abridgement of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', with the original text of around three hours cut down to 60 minutes. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | Witches, prophesies, murders, battles and ghosts. Shakespeare's Macbeth compressed to the compass of a small cast. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Master Shakeshafte by Peter Parkinson |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 8. Minimum Female roles = 5. Minimum total with doubling = 13. Minimum total without doubling = 18. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 84 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A full length play, with a variety of settings, generally indicated by furniture and atmosphere. |
Synopsis | There is much speculation over the 'missing years' of Shakespeare's life, and this play offers a glimpse into what may have happened if the bard of Avon really did spend time as a tutor in Hoghton Hall, before becoming a playwright in earnest. There are numerous nods to familiar plays and characters, and also lines or titles which may delight an alert audience. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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The Merchant of Venice [60-minute abridgement] by Shakespeare, abridged Jack Shaw |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 9. Minimum Female roles = 3. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 16. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 60 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Every word is Shakespeare's, but the cast list has been reduced, with four minor characters and all servants/court officials removed. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Synopsis | Bassanio needs money so that he can court the noble lady Portia. He goes to his friend Antonio, who helps negotiate a loan from the moneylender Shylock. If the money is not repaid, Shylock will demand a pound of Antonio's flesh. This leads to a court case with an unexpected judge. (The abridgement is copyrighted, so we charge for scripts and copying rights, but performances are royalty-free.) |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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The Necklace by Tony Best Performance by Cheshire Academy of Performing Arts won best Youth Production and the Syd Mence cup for a piece of theatre magic at the Wilmslow Guild One Act play Festival, 2012 |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 6. Minimum total without doubling = 29. Chorus. There are two main roles, and a 'chorus of voices' playing all the other roles, thus the numbers are very flexible. The chorus members play specific roles but also act as a 'Greek Chorus' to comment on the story. |
Run Time | Around 35 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | One-act play based on a short story (a moral fable) by Guy de Maupassant. Written for a youth theatre production but could be performed by adults. |
Synopsis | Mathilde is a vain, proud woman, who regrets that the she has been born into the humbler classes. She longs to be an aristocrat. Given her chance to shine, she borrows a stunning necklace, but that is the start of her woes. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Othello In Hell by Richard Gordon |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 2. Minimum Female roles = 2. Minimum total with doubling = 8. Minimum total without doubling = 8. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A one act play based on the Shakespeare classic. |
Synopsis | Trapped in an invisible prison, the spirit of Othello is tormented by his own memories and visions of those he has known in life. He seems doomed to repeat a cycle of regret and blame and rage, even when granted Desdemona’s forgiveness. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Princess Bigfoot by Bob Heather |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 5. Minimum Female roles = 8. Minimum total with doubling = 12. Minimum total without doubling = 14. Chorus. |
Run Time | Around 30 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | A one act family play, based on real characters circa 750 AD (though incorporating folk tales). |
Synopsis | In 8th Century France an identity theft scheme to usurp the Princess Bertha from her position as the wife of King Pepin is thwarted by that famous pair of investigators: Messrs Hercule and Poirot - as well as by the Princess’s shoe size. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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Ragnhild by Charles Eades |
Roles | Minimum Male roles = 6. Minimum Female roles = 4. Minimum total with doubling = 11. Minimum total without doubling = 11. No chorus. |
Run Time | Around 82 minutes. [Estimated!] |
Music | None. |
Style | Full-length historical drama. Contains strong language and adult themes. |
Synopsis | The true story of Ragnhild, daughter of a usurped King of Norway. In 956 AD, living in exile on Orkney, Ragnhild must marry Arnfinn, the son of an earl, but she doesn't like her new husband. Through ruthless and murderous schemes, Ragnhild rises in power once more. |
Price | For scripts and live performance rights, please click on the Price Link to find the cost. For scripts and lockdown videos/streaming rights, click here |
Click here to read the script or Click here for more details. |
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